Former “Non-Profit” agencies are now “Not-For-Profit” agencies. Why is this?
Was Non-profit non-PC for some reason?
I believe (and I am usually wrong) that it is because “non-profit” implies the organization does not make any money, when in fact the people running the thing are getting paid. They only have to spend like 10% on their actual goal. Ridiculous if you ask me.
“Not-for-profit” makes more sense, whether it is more PC or not I am not sure. I think this suggests that the organization is not created to make a profit, but consequently, they do. I think this is a more accurate term.
I always thought:
Non-profit: we don’t make a profit
Not-for-profit: We may make a profit, in which case it will be reinvested in The Cause
There is no real legal difference between the two, though not-for-profit is preferred and somewhat more formal.
The main difference between a nonprofit and a profit-making enterprise is that a nonprofit cannot use profits to pay stockholders or any other form of ownership. In addition, nonprofits can’t pay their board members (though they can pay employees, but employees can’t serve on the board).
I work for a non-profit organization, the government funding we receive and the monies we raise through different activities are put back into the programs that we run. We cannot hold any surplus funding dollars and these extra dollars are paid out to the staff at the end of the fiscal year as small bonuses. We are allowed to retain monies derived from fundraising and use those monies where they are needed.